holidays

• 
• SOURCE: TIME
  12/17/2020
  

  How America Keeps Adapting the Story of the Pilgrims at Plymouth to Match the Story We Need to Tell

  by Peter C. Mancall

  The prevailing memory of Plymouth has shifted as Americans have used it as an allegory for their contemporary concerns. Most notably, the harsh religious orthodoxy of Plymouth was converted by the 19th century to stand for religious liberty, a concept the Pilgrims would have found odious. 

• 
• 11/22/2020
  

  Take a Lesson from the Persistence of the Founder of Modern Thanksgiving

  by William Lambers

  Sarah Josepha Hale pushed Abraham Lincoln to declare a national Thanksgiving holiday as a day to seek healing and unity. Fighting to end hunger is a way to recommit to the spirit of the holiday.

• 
• 11/22/2020
  

  UCLA Historian Carla Pestana Debunks Myths About the Pilgrims and the Plymouth Colony

  by James Thornton Harris

  Alert Tom Cotton: Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower Compact, and the origins of Thanksgiving are just a few of the things Professor Carla Pestana finds in need of historical revision. 

• 
• 7/3/2020
  

  The Case for a National Liberation Day Holiday on December 6

  by Robert Hardaway

  The anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which finally eliminated slavery in the entire United States, should be made a national holiday.

• 
• 12/16/19
  

  Turns out, The Rockettes’ Annual Christmas Spectacular Hasn’t Always Been So Spectacular

  by Isabella DelPino

  The hidden history of the Radio City Rockettes.

• 
• 12/1/2019
  

  How did November become the Mizrahi Heritage Month? And what’s Mizrahi anyhow?

  by Lior Sternfeld and Arie M. Dubnov

  The Mizrahi heritage month is not a local, grassroots initiative that emerged in response to experiences of discrimination or marginalization. Instead, it is a transatlantic importation of recent attempts by the Israeli government to commemorate the forced expulsion of Jews from the Arab and Muslim world in the wake of the establishment of Israel.

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  10/10/10
  

  Why more places are abandoning Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day

  by Malinda Maynor Lowery

  The growing recognition and celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day actually represents the fruits of a concerted, decadeslong effort to recognize the role of indigenous people in the nation’s history.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  7/4/19
  

  What to an American Is the Fourth of July?

  by Ibram X. Kendi

  Power comes before freedom, not the other way around.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  7/4/19
  

  The Fourth of July Has Always Been Political

  by David Waldstreicher

  The question is which vision of America it’s being used to advance.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  7/3/19
  

  Why Democrats are wrong about Trump’s politicization of the Fourth of July

  by Shira Lurie

  He’s not doing anything that hasn’t been done for centuries.

• 
• SOURCE: History.com
  5/28/19
  

  One of the Earliest Memorial Day Ceremonies Was Held by Freed Slaves

  At the close of the Civil War, freed slaves in Charleston honored fallen Union soldiers.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/20/19
  

  Vermont passes bill abolishing Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day

  The state is one signature away from abolishing Columbus Day altogether and permanently recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

• 
• SOURCE: Salon
  3/17/19
  

  On St. Patrick's Day, remember how anti-immigrant history repeats itself

  33 million Americans claim Irish heritage and yet we have not learned from 19th century nativism. 

• 
• SOURCE: ABC News
  3/8/19
  

  International Women's Day went from bloody revolution to corporate breakfasts

  The radical history behind International Women's Day. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  2/13/19
  

  The ‘real’ St. Valentine was no patron of love

  by Lisa Bitel

  Many scholars have deconstructed Valentine and his day in books, articles and blog postings. Some suggest that the modern holiday is a Christian cover-up of the more ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia in mid-February.

• 
• SOURCE: NBC News
  1/23/19
  

  Historians on The Political Misuses of King's Legacy

  Year after year, notable figures and institutions attempt to recast Martin Luther King Jr. as champion of causes that don't align with his legacy.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  1/21/19
  

  On MLK Day, descendants of Lee, Stonewall Jackson urge Va. to halt Confederate tributes

  Descendants of two Confederate generals appeared in the Virginia Senate on Monday to show their support for Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who days earlier sat out a Republican senator’s ode to Robert E. Lee.

• 
• SOURCE: Newsweek
  1/21/19
  

  Julian Zelizer blasts Pence for comparing Donald Trump to MLK

  Zelizer said the Trump administration is "antithetical to absolutely everthing" King fought for. 

• 
• SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer
  1/21/19
  

  On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, remembering the women civil rights leaders left out of spotlight

  “Women were at the forefront of the civil rights struggle, but their individual stories were rarely heard."

• 
• SOURCE: CNN
  1/20/19
  

  Pence's shocking use of Martin Luther King's words

  by Julian Zelizer

  As we've seen, nothing about this administration resembles King's ideals.